Heaven Will Raise Hell on Earth in Syfy’s Dominion

It’s never good when an army of lower angels, assembled by the archangel Gabriel, wages war against mankind. But that’s exactly what happens in Syfy’s newest supernatural drama Dominion (airing Thursdays at 9/8c). Series stars Christopher Egan (Resident Evil: Extinction), Tom Wisdom (300) and Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) spoke with DIRECTV about the series, their chances for survival in a war against the angels, and whether or not Las Vegas is a great place for humanity’s last stand.

Which one of you [the cast of Dominion] would be best suited to survive in a post-apocalyptic world?

Christopher Egan: Roxanne McKee because she is witty and resourceful and she will charm the pants off anyone, including angels. And, just like Claire Riesen, she is a born leader.

Anthony Stewart Head: Probably Luke Allen-Gale, who plays my son. Whenever anything needed to be done, he would always do it. He was always like the scout leader, the go-to guy.

Tom Wisdom: Are you kidding? None of us would survive! We’re actors. We are notoriously lazy and useless.

Okay, let’s go in the other direction… Who would be the first to wind up on the end of an angel’s sword?

Anthony Stewart Head: Oh, that’s horrible! I have no idea!

Christopher Egan: Luke Allen-Gale, he is such an honorable guy he would sacrifice himself to save another. He would probably jump on a sword to save my life ‘cause we are best mates. #justwant2beyourfriend

Tom Wisdom: Whoever is the slowest at the time.

Tom, You had a memorable death scene in 300. Do things go better for you in Dominion? I can’t imagine it gets worse…

Tom Wisdom: I had a good death scene in 300, but it still haunts me that I didn’t see the rider coming out of the mist. Luckily in Dominion, Michael keeps his head a lot better than [my character in 300] Astinos did.

In Dominion, we see that Las Vegas is no more, replaced with a fortress city named Vega. Is Las Vegas the place you’d personally pick for humanity’s last stand?

Tom Wisdom: No, I’d take a leaf out of the Spartans’ book… Thermopylae. If it’s good enough for the 300’s last stand it’s good enough for me.

Christopher Egan: Vegas is a spot that everyone recognizes and knows, has history with, has stories. There’s a fantasy element to Vegas that I think just enhances our story and makes it relatable, like it’s not some made up city in the middle of nowhere, it’s freaking Vegas! And now it’s a fully functioning post-apocalyptic fortress!

Anthony Stewart Head: The reason Las Vegas is in Dominion is because it’s ironic, basically it’s the last place that you would think humanity would pitch its last stand. Ultimately, I don’t think wherever the humans gathered together would be picked by the humans. The writer’s choice of Las Vegas is meant to raise an eyebrow, I think.

Anthony, if you had to pick a place, where would you like it to be?

Anthony Stewart Head: Bath, where I live. [Laughs.]

Christopher, you were in Resident Evil: Extinction. Are you drawn to these end-of-humanity-type projects? Are there lighter roles in your future?

Christopher Egan: I’m always into the hero’s journey and I’m a huge sci-fi fan myself, so I think I’m just attracted to the combination. It is really always about trusting your gut with a project, getting to the end of that script and knowing there’s something you can learn. I enjoy projects which inspire.

Anthony, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been off the air for over a decade, yet the franchise still gets an amazing amount of love from the fans. Why exactly do you think the show endures?

Anthony Stewart Head: Joss [Whedon] very cleverly pulled the plug after seven seasons and didn’t let it dribble on, while other major shows around that time just went on and on and eventually people kind of lost interest. The thing about Buffy is that it’s finite. Over seven seasons people made the journey and they just like making that journey over and over again.

The other reason is because of its allegorical nature: It allows people to see themselves and identify with Buffy and with the journey she makes. Joss’ original creation was that the girl who would normally fall over and twist her ankle when she’s being chased by the demon, werewolf, or vampire is the one that actually fights for mankind’s survival. It’s ironical and clever because it basically makes the last person you think is the hero, actually everyone’s hero. And, it gives all the people who would love to be the hero, but don’t think they are, someone to identify with. Just like [my character] David Whele does. [Laughs.]

Have you had any strange encounters with any Buffy super fans?

Anthony Stewart Head: To be honest, most Buffy super fans are pretty cool and extremely fond of [my character] Giles. I get a lot of love from them, which is a nice thing, it really is.

Is it weird having an action figure of yourself?

Anthony Stewart Head: It says on the packet that it’s a choking hazard and he’s got 14 movable parts. [Laughs.] I guess it is [weird], although it’s pretty cool to have one with a sombrero and a chainsaw. Down the years there’s turned out to be quite a lot of paraphernalia that’s attached [to Buffy]. I haven’t collected the Christmas ornaments in the shape of demon Giles, maybe I should. But it’s pretty cool having action figures and all that.